A Sirius Story
by Wathira
Summary: An examination into the events that made the desperado that we know as Sirius Black from his birth to his death.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

_Harry Potter looked at his watch. It was nearly five o' clock in the morning and the sun would be rising soon. With a sigh, he looked down at the piles of books that his friend Hermione Granger had gathered for him to use in his research. Ever since his godfather Sirius Black had died, Harry had been struggling not to feel that it was in vain. His antidote to that was to research the life of the best friend of his father to see what had motivated him. _

_It had led him to countless accounts from old school friends mostly found by Hermione and written down in the journals now stacked around him. So far, they were mostly the same: "He was always getting into trouble," "Pity about that Azkaban business.." "Pity about him, you know…" Harry rubbed his eyes sleepily and noticed that Hermione had inserted a bookmark in one particular volume. Upon further inspection, it turned out to be an almanac. What was Hermione thinking when she left her Astronomy homework here?_

_Out of pure boredom, Harry opened up to the page that was bookmarked and began reading. It was on constellations that appeared in the latter part of the year and signaled the begin of harvest in ancient times and all that. But wait. One of the constellations that appeared in the sky was shaped like a dog and was called _Sirius_. Harry started and thought that maybe it was not just a coincidence that Hermione had bookmarked this page._

_Making a mental note to thank Hermione for paying close attention to such a detail, Harry called his house-elf to him. Kreacher appeared, as always dressed only in a loincloth but not appearing to be cold even though Harry had let the fire go out a while ago. "Kreacher, do you know how Sirius got his name?" The house-elf nodded even though he still glared at Harry with contempt that he did not even bother to conceal. "Can you tell me?"_

_Kreacher nodded again. Harry knew that Kreacher did anything to dodge obeying him and knew that he only needed to say something the right way to force him. "I command you to tell me." With a snarl, Kreacher began to talk. "Mistress Black and Master Black were just going to bed one night when dear Mistress said, 'You know, dear, my due date is during the time when Sirius and Orion are in the sky, in late November. Mightn't we consider them as names? Besides, it would be fitting to name the baby after a heavenly body to indicate his pure-bloodedness.'" "Keep talking," urged Harry as he dipped his quill into his inkwell and started to write what Kreacher was saying. By sunrise he had more information than he had gotten from all the old classmates combined. _

_Satisfied, he rolled up the scroll to show Hermione so that she could make any grammatical corrections, which she was always sure to find. He yawned and finally dismissed Kreacher so that he could go to sleep to the delight of the house-elf. As the light crept in the window, he felt that is was also shedding light on the godfather he had barely known and now felt closer to by the scroll in his hand. Before he got Hedwig to send it to Hermione and taking a nap, he read it through once more._


	2. Chapter 2

Meet the Blacks

Mera Black patted her quaffle-sized belly affectionately under the covers and sighed contentedly. The little being within answered with a kick before settling down again. His mother extinguished her candle and fluffed her pillow to get a little more comfortable. Her husband was frowning a little from her choice of names. She turned to him.

"We do not even know for sure whether it will be a boy," protested Patrick Black. He loved his wife even though she could be a little obsessed with being pure-blooded. There was nothing wrong with being a pure-blood, though. It was the only reason Mera White had married him and her parents had approved of the otherwise awkward newspaper-delivery boy.

"What if it's a girl?" he continued. "She should be firm like our house has been for hundreds of years. How about Constance?"

"This is the twentieth century, Pat," Mera said sarcastically. The baby squirmed inside her as if in acquiescence and perhaps the only time he would ever agree with her. Its father sighed and extinguished his own candle to go to sleep. Kreacher, their house-elf, finished putting away their laundry in the dark and, quietly closing the drawers, he crept out of the bedroom to leave his family to their dreams. Then he made his way downstairs to the cupboard under the kitchen sink where his own little bed made from a discarded laundry basket awaited him.

The next few weeks were busy for the whole family as preparations for the baby continued. Patrick's brother, Al, sent an enchanted mobile that played a different tune every time someone entered the nursery and had shapes of stars and planets hanging from it. Aunt Bell charmed the cradle to rock itself gently whenever the baby was placed in it. Shield charms were placed on the changing table in case the baby rolled off if left unwatched. Patrick had always loved working with his hands and he rounded the edges on all the tables and chairs in the house without magic for the sheer joy of it.

Kreacher was also kept busy brushing the rug in the baby's room and painting the walls how Mera wanted them. He used levitation to get to the higher parts that he could not reach. The design was light blue with fluffy-looking white clouds here and there. Hippogriffs and phoenixes began to fly around the walls as soon as they were finished. Finally, he collected all the Doxies hiding around the house for Mera to make a new blanket for the baby from their skins.

About a month later, they were all done and the baby was due in a matter of days. Everyone was excited and it showed. Even Kreacher hummed tunelessly to himself as he went about doing his daily chores which had finally slowed down again now that preparing for the baby was done. Patrick and Mera could hardly get to sleep each night, so aware were they of the fact that the baby could come at any time. He was born one cold but clear night with the constellation that both his parents had finally agreed to name him after (Patrick rarely won an argument against his wife) in the sky above the house.


	3. Chapter 3

**Meet the Potters**

A knock came at the door.

"Coming!" called Patrick as he went to get it. It was the Potters and their new baby boy, James. Patrick joyously greeted his old school friends and politely showed them into the parlor.

"We just came to congratulate you on your new son, Pat," Thomas Potter began as Kreacher levitated a small table bearing a tea tray to his side. "Welcome to parenthood, my friend."

"Now, now, dear," laughed his wife. "You must not excite him so. He and Mera have quite a few difficult months ahead."

"We all do," said Tom, suddenly grave. "That is, if this Riddle character keeps up his mischief."

"For heaven's sake, don't bring that up," chided Jane Potter. "This is supposed to be a happy occasion. Mera and Patrick are celebrating the arrival of a new child and we are here to encourage them. You should not rain on their parade with some Muggle-hating troublemaker who is only a temporary nuisance."

"You are right, dear," Tom replied as he managed a weak smile. "Today is to celebrate children. Forgive me."

Thomas and Jane Potter had gotten their own son a few months before Sirius Black was born. They were close friends of Patrick since their Hogwarts years and were two of the first to receive owls from him announcing the birth of his firstborn. Tom worked as an Auror in the Ministry of Magic and hoped that one day his own firstborn would follow in his footsteps. Jane worked in the Department of Mysteries and helped her husband detect information that helped him on his missions. It had been a difficult time when they found out that little James was coming, since they did not know how they could raise a child and be in their line of work.

"I only regret that you can't see the baby right now, since he is taking his nap," said Patrick, partly in apology and partly to change the subject.

"Oh, that's alright, Pat," Jane assured him. "We all know little ones need their nappies." She smiled blissfully as the little face just visible amid the bundle of blankets in her arms.

"And there are a lot."

"Naps? Oh, yes!" agreed Tom.

"No, little ones," corrected Pat. "The Malfoys got a boy right after Sirius was born, Lucius. And the Lestranges got a girl."

"You don't say!" exclaimed Jane. "And all Slytherins. Well, we better watch out or they will just take over!" She stopped mid-laugh. "Oh, Pat, I forgot that Mera was…"

"It's alright," Pat dismissed her apology. "No one can blame you Gryffindors for your feelings about Slytherin."

"Did you catch the Quidditch game last week?" asked Tom, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"No, actually, I have been quite busy taking care and Mera and the new baby," Pat said. "How was it?"

"Brutal. The Arrows have a new Beater and he just whipped us."

"That's too bad. But now they can adapt their strategies to counter this new player."

"Let's hope so. They could use a better performance next time."

As the grown-ups continued talking into the evening, little Sirius woke up and drowsily watched as the enchanted walls of his nursery turned pink with twilight and then blue and finally tiny stars appeared on the ceiling. Then he shut his eyes and went back to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N-Thank you to my friend, Petra, for giving me the idea for Sirius' walls to change with the time of day in the last chapter!

**Meet Sirius**

Sirius Black and his mother, Mera, held each other tight in his nursery and screamed to drown out the sound of Patrick downstairs in the parlor as a colony of angry wasps attacked him. He had been trying to clear the chimney after they had found an obstruction at the top keeping the smoke from escaping. The simple unblocking charm had released the thing which happened to be a wasp's nest and also angered its inhabitants, and that was why Sirius and Mera had fled and taken refuge in the nursery. They had expected Patrick to follow them but he had slammed the door behind them, risking death rather than letting any wasps escape to sting his family. _Immobilus_ did not stop them because they were too many and they attacked too fast in too many places.

Finally, Patrick tried _Aguamenti_ and sprayed his enemies with water from his wand. While it killed more at a go, they just avoided the jet of water and attacked from the back and other unprotected places. The water started to rise as Patrick used more power in the spell and larger amounts of water came out. By the time he had drowned all of them, he was too weak from the fight and every inch of him was covered with wasp stings. He fell in exhaustion and drowned in the water he had conjured to save him.

When the noise had stopped, Mera left Sirius with strict instructions to stay in the nursery and sent an owl to her cousin Cornelius to tell him what happened. He came over the next day and took care of Patrick's body while she made funeral arrangements and took care of Sirius. The funeral was held two days later and after everyone had eaten and left, leaving their condolences, Mera let Sirius play in the front yard while she cleaned up inside. Sirius at once took his toy broomstick that his father had bought him for his last birthday. It was a mini Cleansweep model and it was Sirius' favorite toy.

Meanwhile, just outside the front gate, a little Muggle boy was crying because he had run away and now was lost. But his sadness melted as he caught sight of a boy in a yard whizzing around on a broomstick. His mouth fell wide open as the strange boy flew around like one of the witches he thought were only in storybooks. Waiting until the boy flew close to the gate where he was standing, he asked, "How do you do that?"

Sirius landed behind the gate. "What?"

"How do you fly on the broom like that?"

"Anyone can do it. It's really easy."

The Muggle boy was surprised at this, but he had never thought to try to fly on a broomstick, so it was probably true. "Can I try?"

"Sure! I've been playing with it for a while, so you can have a go."

At first, the new boy had a little trouble getting his balance, but he soon got used to it and was whizzing around the yard as fast as Sirius had been. This happy time for both boys was brought to an end when Mera looked out the window and saw her son playing with a strange boy. Taking off her apron, she marched out of the house and stood on the porch with her hands on her hips. "Sirius Patrick Black, who is that boy. You know better than to talk to strangers!"

"Aww, mama, he only wanted to play with my broomstick. You always says that it's nice to share!"

"I also say that you should not talk to strangers. Now tell him to be on his way."

The strange boy heard all this and handed the broom back to Sirius. "Thank you for letting me play," he said. "I've never had such a fun toy."

"Oh." Sirius was suddenly uncomfortable. "Is your family poor?"

"No! We have two cars!"

"What are cars?"

The boy looked at him strangely. "You mean you don't know what cars are? How do you get around."

"By broomstick, of course."

"You mean, like witches?"

"Um, yeah."

Mera was listening closely to all this. Now she said, "Is your family not a wizarding one, boy?"

His eyes widened. "No way! But it would be way cool! I'd be able to do magic and …"

"Muggle filth! And in my own yard! Out! Out!" she screamed as she drew her wand. Sirius watched in shock and surprise as she sent different unpleasant spells at the now retreating Muggle boy. He had never seen this side of her. She had always been gentle and kind with him. When the Muggle was gone, the shock was over and he started to cry. "Oh, darling, did that dirty Muggle hurt you?" she asked with her arms stretched out to him. But instead of running into them, he said, "He only wanted to play. You didn't have to yell at him."

"But, darling, he was a Muggle."

Sirius could not understand what that had to do with it, nor could he look at his mother the same way again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Meet Joanne**

"Mother, we have an owl."

Mera Black looked up from her breakfast. Sure enough, there was a barn owl tapping impatiently on the window panes. She got up and opened the window for it and it glided inside and onto the table. In its beak was what they had been waiting for a while now. It dropped the envelope of parchment onto Sirius' lap and flew out through the window.

"Well, go on, dear, open it!" said Mera, full of excitement that this moment had finally come.

Obediently, Sirius tore open the enveloped and pulled out the letter. He unfolded it and glanced at it once. Instantly, his smile disappeared.

"What is it, darling?" asked his mother worriedly.

" 'Dear Mr. Black,'" Sirius read. " 'We regret to inform you that you have not been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…'"

He never got farther than that because his mother suddenly clenched her fists and screamed, "What? How dare they? Have those Muggle-lovers stopped taking pure-bloods and only accept Mudbloods now?"

"Mother, I was only joking," Sirius laughed nervously. Mera grabbed the letter from him and read it herself. Her face relaxed.

"Don't do that to me ever again, dearest," she said. "Now, finish up your breakfast so we can start shopping for you school things."

A couple of hours later, they were standing on the sidewalk while Mera signaled for the Knight Bus. They had stopped using Floo Powder some years ago. Patrick's death had never left Mera feeling exactly the same about fireplaces. Presently, the Knight Bus appeared and the door opened for a pretty witch with a purple uniform on. She wore a big smile as she said to them:

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, good customer or customers. We serve the entire Wizarding population from the Isle of Wight to the highlands of Scotland. I will be your conductress, Joanne Rowling. Please proceed up the steps with caution and take a seat on one of the beds."

Mera and Sirius entered the bus and sat down on two beds near the back of the bus. Joanne came to take their fare and they told her their destination as she waved her wand over the bedside tables to make a stack of barf bags appear on each ("Customer Service has been getting calls requesting these for each passenger," she explained). Then she made her way to the front of the bus for the rest of the ride. After about an hour of picking up and dropping off wizards from all over the country, they had reached the Leaky Cauldron.

"Thank you for using the Knight Bus and please do not forget to donate to the education fund for Muggle-born children. The box is right near the door…"

They did not hear her last words because Mera was pushing Sirius towards the exit and out the door.

"Goodbye, then!" she called cheerily out the window, anyway. With that, the Knight Bus disappeared.

Through the inn and out the back through the secret portal, they entered Diagon Alley. For the whole afternoon they looked through stores with school supplies and stores that just looked like they had fun stuff. It was one of the few times that Sirius enjoyed being with his mother. At two o'clock in the afternoon, Mera bought Sirius an ice cream to cool him down and he happily licked as they checked off everything on the school supply list. Finally, the day drew to a close and they found themselves once again outside the Leaky Cauldron. The only difference was this time they were loaded down with a number of packages including a cage with a new owl for Sirius.

Again, Mera signaled for the Knight Bus and it came chugging into sight. This time, Mera pulled Sirius past the cheery conductress to a bed near the back as before. The day had been long and Mera decided to take a little nap on the way home. Sirius decided to talk to Joanne to pass the time so he made his way to the front where she was sitting reading a newspaper. The headline said, "Riddle strikes again, leaves fifteen dead in Muggle orphanage."

Sirius had heard rumors of Tom Riddle, a half-Muggle who seemed to have a taste for killing. He now noticed that there were a number of newspaper clippings pasted on the wall next to Joanne all about Tom Riddle. Presently, she noticed him looking at them and, checking to make sure that Mera was really sleeping, whispered to Sirius,

"I am a Muggle-born, you see. I think there is too much suspicion between wizards and muggles and I want to write a sort of book that will explain wizards and their ways to muggles. Then they will not have any reason to be afraid or distrustful of them. This Riddle character looks like a good place to begin, since he has been stirring so much rucus."

With that, she smiled and Sirius smiled back. It was just what would be needed to build trust between muggles and went back to her reading. He went back to his mother so as not to disturb either women. When they got off at their stop, he wanted to tell Mera about what Joanne had said. But he stopped, knowing that she would not understand. He sadly followed her inside the house as she chattered cheerfully about what a great wizard her little boy would be and whether she should cook steak or chicken tonight.


	6. Chapter 6

Meet James Potter

September 1 finally rolled around and Mera's brother Cornelius came to help them move Sirius' things to the train station. He strapped the trunk with all the school supplies to his broomstick and covered himself and everything else with his invisibility cloak. Then he flew to Kings Cross Station to wait for them on Platform 93/4. Sirius Side-Along Apparated with his mother to the platform and there they waited for Cornelius. Suddenly, he was knocked down from behind by something heavy.

"Will you watch where you are going?" he heard his mother ask whoever it was. He looked up, as annoyed as she was. It was a trunk on a trolley that had knocked him over and behind it was a boy not much older than he was with dark hair and round glasses. The boy had an apologetic look on his face but the woman next to him, his mother, was looking at Mera with a scowl on her face and her hands on her hips.

"Well, why were you and your boy standing right in front of the portal just waiting to be hit by people coming in?" she asked.

"Are you alright?" the boy asked Sirius. Sirius mumbled an affirmation and got up looking for any bruises. "Sorry. I was just in such a hurry to get on the train and finally go to Hogwarts, I forgot to be careful," the strange boy continued.

"It's fine, really," said Sirius.

"Why, Mera Black!" exclaimed the boy's mother.

"What is it to you?" said Mera, still in a bad mood from watching her son get knocked over by another boy.

"Jane Potter! We went to school together. Well, actually, you were Mera White back then. Fancy our firstborn sons now going together, too!" replied the woman.

"Not if Sirius gets into Gryffindor," snarled Mera.

"I see you have not changed a bit. Tom and I hoped you would since you married Patrick."

"Do not talk about my husband as if you knew him. I knew him better than anybody and he was a Slytherin through and through."

"Well, sorry we bumped into you, but you really should not stand in the middle of the portal like that. Come, James."

Jane Potter led her son away from the Blacks toward the train and Mera and Sirius went back to looking for Uncle Cornelius. Finally, he entered the portal wheeling Sirius' things along with his broomstick on a trolley. After wishing Sirius godspeed on his journey and his studies, he Disapparated with his broom. Mera and Sirius went to find a seat for him on the train and she levitated his things into the overhead compartment. Then, with a goodbye kiss for Sirius, Mera left the train and waved as the train left the station.

As the train pulled away from London, Sirius felt a balloon of joy inflating inside him. He was finally away from his protective mother and her constant muggle-hating banter. At that moment, the door opened and James Potter poked his head in and saw Sirius.

"Do you mind?" he said with a sheepish smile. "Everywhere else is full."

"Not at all."

James entered and sat down opposite Sirius.

"Sorry for knocking you down before. It wasn't on purpose, you know."

"I know."

Just then, a red-haired girl poked her head in.

"Has anyone seen a rat?" she asked. "A boy called Peter has lost one."

"No," said Sirius. James stared at the girl as if he was under a spell.

"Well, I'll keep looking then," said the girl. And she went off further down the train.

There was silence for a little while, and then Sirius said, "I guess our moms went were classmates."

James shook his head as if to clear it. "Oh, yeah, I guess so."

"Do you hope to get into Gryffindor?"

"Yeah. Both my parents were in it."

"Both my parents were in Slytherin."

"Do you hope to be in Slytherin, too?"

Sirius paused, and then said, "No."

"Good," said James. "Because you're actually civil. I would hate it if you got into Slytherin."

Sirius nodded, but he did not feel any better because he was thinking about his mother.


End file.
